Guardian Angel
by fordytwo
Summary: High school AU. Natalia's only ever cared about her older brother Ivan. But when things don't go as planned, what does a friendless, asocial, and generally vulgar teenage girl do? In comes, Alfred F. Jones to the rescue! A story about friendship, love, and awkward high school experiences.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

All Natalia wanted was a simple school life. Spend time in classes, join a club, study, and ultimately make her older brother fall in deep, unconditional love with her. Simple, average schoolgirl thoughts.

Though her first problem began with the school.

World Academy, they called it. A school located on an island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. They claimed that the strange location was because no country would own it, making it completely independent, all choices made by their benefactors and donators. To Natalia, this all translated to complete shit.

Independent? The choices were made rich, eccentric men whose other "benefactions" were their local brothel and yacht shop. Not to mention, having students from all over the world and giving them one set of curriculum had to the idea of a madman. Education systems and years varied from country to country, sometimes even state to state. Thinking about it was the mental equivalent to hearing metal scrape against stone.

Yet here she was, in her dorm with her plaid jumper and black tights replacing her usual dress and petticoats, tightening a necktie around the collar of a white blouse. She took a final glance in the mirror, absolutely disgusted by herself. _It's for Ivan_ , she reminded herself. When he talked about enrolling, she immediately followed him. She had to protect him. If any girl came too close to Ivan... _well..._ Let's just say that there was a very good reason she kept a knife strapped to her thigh.

"Nat," a familiar voice came through the door. "Are you ready? Your classes are starting soon."

It was Katyusha. Natalia's lips thinned into a line. She didn't need Katyusha to interfere with her plans.

"Go away," she stated bluntly.

"Natalia, it's your first day, I don't want you to get l-"

Natalia opened the door, her cheeks burning red. "I'm fine."

Katyusha left quietly. "I'll see you at lunch then."

"See you then." Just when she was about to let out a sigh of relief, a golden-haired boy stood in front of her, adjusting his glasses. Something about him radiated a sunny aura.

"You must be Kat's little sis," he said. "C'mon, you gotta nicer to her, she's a really cool girl! Someone as nice as her deserves, like, chocolate and flowers just about every single day. Trust me, I've got an older brother, he's-" the boy sucked air through his teeth- "well, I don't exactly have any words to say."

"One, don't care. Two, why are you in the girls' dorm?"

"I kinda help the cleaning ladies if I wake up early enough."

Natalia shifted her weight to one leg and crossed her arms. "Three, can you go away?"

His eyes dodged down the hallway then back to Natalia. "And leave a damsel in distress like you? You're new here, aren't you?" His blue eyes brightened. Natalia's fingers itched to reach for her knife.

"Yes?"

"Then I'll give you a tour! Jones' Supreme Tour of WA! It's a classic, I swear." Natalia opened her mouth to speak, but before her mouth could even form the word "no", she found her being pulled by the hand. They dashed out of the dorm into the courtyard where all eyes fell upon them followed by a series of whispers and giggles. Natalia's cheeks reddened.

He stopped suddenly and without warning. Natalia tripped and fell over and crashed into the concrete as students laughed all around her—or would have, had the boy not steadied her by the shoulders. He smelled of a strange mix of tall pines and cinnamon. She pushed him away immediately.

"Hey, get your cleavage out of my face. I don't even know your name, for one."

He giggled, sounding strangely childish. He lifted an eyebrow. "A bit vulgar for a girl, don't you think?"

"I"ve been told. Name?"

He held out his hand. "Alfred. Alfred F. Jones. And you?"

She stared at his hand but refused to even touch it. "Natalia Arlovskaya."

"Natalia! Your name's Natalia!"

She took a step backwards. "Is there something funny about my name?"

"No, it's nothing like that! It's just Natalia's just a really good name for nicknames."

"..."  
"Like there's Tali, Lia, Tals, Lee, and...Nat." He smiled. "I think Nat fits you well. Mind if I call you that?"

"Yes."

He ruffled her hair. "Nat it is then!"

She readjusted her hair, straightening out her bow. "W-wait, I didn't mean 'yes', it's okay to call me Nat. I mean 'yes' like 'no'."

He tilted his head and scrunched his eyebrows. "No idea what you just said." Another smile. "Nat it is!"

Natalia crossed her arms and scoffed. "And if I call _you_ Alfie? Perhaps Al."

"Sure, if ya like!"

"I was joking."

"Huh, really? Couldn't really tell. Then what would you call me?"

"By the name your mother gave you. Alfred."

Alfred. The second problem was named Alfred.

The third problem revealed itself during lunch hour. Finally torn apart from Alfred, Natalia found herself relieved to do all her schoolwork. Or would have, had Ivan not be sitting right in front of her. Back home, she was an ace student, president of the debate team and a constant contender for student of the year. Here, she found herself lost in Ivan's silvery locks, and when she intentionally dropped an eraser to get him to pick it up, his beautiful violet eyes. The teacher's words muddied themselves to nothing, and the words on her assignment seemed to curl and change until only Ivan's name appeared, repeating over and over.

"You have to be a little bit more careful than that, sis," he said, smiling warmly as he picked up her eraser. Natalia blushed and nodded so quickly that her hair whipped around and nearly hit the girl behind her.

"Of course," she muttered to him.

A ring sounded through the classroom. _Lunch_.

Natalia stuffed her papers and pencils into her bag as quickly as possible. "Um, Ivan, how about we-"

She looked up. Ivan was already gone. Natalia chewed on the inside of her cheek as she shoved her final textbook into her bag. Exactly how fast could a single man walk? If she didn't know any better, she would've thought that Ivan was avoiding her.

 _No_ , she told herself. It wasn't like that. Ivan secretly loved her, right? He wasn't avoiding her; he was probably too flustered to even face her.

"Huh? You don't look like a third year." A female voice thick with a Hungarian accent said over her shoulder. Natalia turned around, finding the unfortunate girl who sat behind her during class. She ran a hand through her ponytailed brown hair and fiddled with the flower in her hair. "Don't tell me you're that first year?"

Natalia shot daggers at her. "What do you mean by 'that first year'?"

"Rumor has it that there's a first year taking all third year classes. Is that you?"

She only did it to have the chance to be with Ivan. "Yes..." she said with caution.

"Little genius, aren't you?" The girl smiled. "I'm Elizaveta. Me and a couple friends are going to the cafeteria for some lunch, do you wanna come with-"

"No thank you," Natalia said bluntly. _It's a prank_ , something in the back of her mind told her. _They're probably going to ditch you in the middle of the road or lock you in a bathroom._ Images from her childhood flashed through her mind. _Ivan's the only person I need. Ivan's the only person I need._

"Are you sure?" Elizaveta placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're looking a little pa-"

"I-I'm fine!" Her voice erupted through the empty classroom. She shrugged off Elizaveta's hand. "I don't want to."

Elizaveta took a step back, her expression a bit hurt. She tossed her bag over her shoulder. "I'm not going to force you to do anything, but the opportunity stands if you change your mind." Natalia pushed past her and exited the classroom.

 _Ivan. Ivan. Ivan. Ivan. Where is he?_ Natalia tossed her head back and forth in search of her brother. She searched the cafeteria and courtyard all over for him. _Where is he? H-he's not hiding, is he?_ Her fingers clutched tight to the hem of her skirt. _If he's with some other girl, I swear I'll-_

Natalia's eyes widened with glee as she spotted him, sitting atop a tree stump with four other boys. He was obviously the most handsome of all of them. One looked much too old to be in a high school while another looked he had hamsters taped above his eyes. Another looked like he picked out his uniform blind, his sleeves much too long, and the last one-

"Hey, Nat!" He called out to her, so loud that the entire courtyard could practically hear him. "Come sit with us!" Natalia shook her head in refusal at first before her gaze locked with Ivan's. Then she sighed, and took Alfred's offer, walking towards the group of boys. _I'm stuck with a bunch of penises,_ she thought grimly.

Alfred ruffled her hair. "Dude, I didn't see you all day! First years and second years have classes in the same wing, you know. Wave hello to me sometime."

"I'm taking all third year classes."

Natalia swore she saw Alfred's expression falter a bit. _That can't be,_ she reminded herself. _He's only known me for a day._ No person could possibly be so kind, right?

Her gaze fell from Alfred then moved to Ivan. She smiled. "It's nice how we have so many classes together, right Ivan?"

"O-of course. It's always fun to spend more time with my...dear, little sister." The two of them made eye contact.

Natalia smiled. Her heart pulsed, and butterflies soared through her stomach as the two of them talked. Every single word she said felt like a dream, and every response he had was heaven. Before the two of them noticed, lunch had ended. Glee filled every single bit of Natalia's pores.

"Ivan, we have History together, don't we?"

"Y-yes, I believe so."

She latched herself onto his arm, and smiled warmly. Ivan looked at her nervously.

"It's fine," she reassured him. "We're brother and sister, remember?"

"O-of course." He sighed. He hooked his arm with hers and the two of them walked through the courtyard and into the hallway. Eyes darted towards them. _They're probably thinking about how cute we are together!_ She looked to Ivan, who had turned beet red with embarrassment.

"Ivan, are you o-"

He clenched his teeth. His grip on her arm grew painfully tight. "Natalia, may I see you alone?" He said through his teeth

Natalia's eyes widened. _A confession?_ She couldn't even manage to speak. Instead, she nodded as furiously as humanly possible. She followed him into an empty hallway, her vision rose-tinted and dreamy. What dates would they go on? Who would be the first one to say "I love you"? And most importantly, how would their wedding look like?

"I want you to stop following me around."

If it was possible for the human heart to shatter, Natalia experienced it. "W-what?" She looked into Ivan's eyes, his violet eyes full of fury. He was angry. She never saw him angry.

"You've been embarrassing all day! Quit it!" He clasped both hands on her shoulders and shook her silly, knocking all her previous thoughts out of her head. "Is this some kind of prank you had in mind?"

"To h-hurt you? I would never do anything like that?"

"During lunch, you spoke over every single person. When I asked any of them a question, you were the one who responded. During class, you kept on dropping your eraser to interrupt my work! You even had the nerve to grab my arm for the sake of making people stare at us!" Natalia had seen Ivan's temper rise now and again, but it was always to protect her. It was the first time it had been directed at her.

Her eyes darted to the ground. She didn't want to see his face marred with that expression. "That wasn't the idea." Her heart beat fast in her chest. _It's time._ Her hands gripped into fists and she looked at Ivan in the eye. "I-I love you, Ivan! Ever since we were in that orphanage together, I've loved you. I-I mean, look, fate brought together, hasn't it? Here we are. Most kids in that orphanage end up countries apart. I just want to be closer to you, Ivan."

Ivan's expression softened. "I see. So that's why you've been acting so weirdly." He sighed. "Natalia, you're forgetting something."

The remainders of her heart twisted in pain. "What?"

"We're brother and sister."

"But we're both adopted."

"Still counts."

She took a step forward. He took a step back. She bit her lip.

"But if we weren't, would you love me?"  
He paused for a moment, then nodded his head. "Yes, I would. When we were kids, I loved you. Probably more than you loved me. But ever since we became siblings, I told myself that it wasn't possible. I gave you up. You should give me up too."

"But-"

She saw Ivan's expression harden, and closed her mouth. "I understand," she muttered and walked in the other direction.

"The class in the other direction."

"I know." She didn't dare turn around. Her eyes were watering. "I just don't want to see you right now." She didn't know where she went after that. Her eyes were too blurred with tears, and pain pounded in her chest. But she knew she was there for a long time. She saw the blue sky fade to orange, and the sun lower into the hills.

You'd think she'd run out of tears to cry. But even after several hours, she was still sobbing tears.

"Hey, are you okay?" Natalia looked up. She blinked away tears to see the familiar face of a particular golden-haired boy before more tears came to replace her vision. If this was any other day, she would've spewed out an expletive-laced insult. But today...

"Why can't I stop crying?" She muttered, swiping at the tears with her already soaked sleeve cuffs.

He kneeled down beside her and rubbed tiny circles into her back with the palm of his hand. "I guess the human body's just weird that way." He paused. "Hey Nat, your sister's been looking for you all afternoon."

"I don't want to show my face to her. Not after...fuck, I can't even say his name anymore."

"It's okay, Ivan told me what happened."

"What, that I'm an incestuous freak with an obsession with him? That he never wants to see me again?"

"That he's worried about you," he said firmly. "He's still your brother, you know."

"Yeah, but now there's this huge wall between us. How am I supposed to even talk to him? I've never cared about any other person than him. I've pissed off every person other than him. I don't have any friends, and I'm intimidating as hell. What am I supposed to do?"

Alfred smiled. "Well, you're at a new school. I don't know if you believe in perfect opportunities, but I think one has presented itself to you." He pointed at his chest. "And I'm perfectly welcome to be your guardian angel until then. Deal?" He held out his hand.

A momentary shot of impulse coursed through her veins. All walls that she built to protect herself crumbled to the ground as her hand grasped around his. "Deal."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Natalia didn't dare look at a mirror. Her face felt puffy and swollen enough—she didn't need the cold confirmation of a mirror to know how pathetic she looked. She didn't need _anyone_ to see how she looked.

She heard a grunt from the bunk above her. Over the week, Natalia managed to learn her roommate's strange grunt-filled language. This particular one translated into: _You're still here. I''m the one who's supposed to be the shut-in who stays in all morning. Get out._

"Maybe you wouldn't have to deal with this problem if you weren't nocturnal."

Another grunt. _Well, poker doesn't happen during the morning, sweetheart._

"It's a Saturday. I don't have any classes, and I don't really have a clique of friends in desperate need of my quick wit and sharp tongue."

There was a knock on the door. Natalia looked up at her roommate, still swathed up in her duvet. "Can you get it."

Something Natalia didn't dare repeat.

"God! I was joking!" Natalia rose to her feet and combed through her hair with her fingers before twisting the door knob. "It's probably Katyusha anywa—"  
Alfred stood in the frame of the door, a large stuffed cat in one hand and a _Get Well_ balloon in the other.

Natalia narrowed her eyes. "Fuck, you're joking, right?"

Alfred blinked. "...You don't look sick." He looked back at his gifts with a disappointed expression.

"What gave you the impression that I was sick?"

"I didn't see you all week."

"I skipped."

He looked at her with this strange, incredulous look as if those two words were put together for the first time in history. "You...skipped." He had to sound it out. Natalia didn't even have to ask. He already looked like your average, American golden boy. It came to no surprise that he actually _was_ one.

"Skipping—you know, the thing you do where you just don't show up to class? I know we're both from different countries, but I'm sure shitty attendance is an international thing."  
"No...it's not that." He shook his head. His blue gaze pressed into hers. "It's just—did Ivan really affect you that much?"

Natalia didn't dare look at his face. Instead, as she leaned against the door frame, she aimed her gaze at those roughed-up sneakers of his. "Yeah. He did," she managed. "If you're looking to go all manic pixie dream girl on me, try your best. Because I'm the most depressed, sarcastic protagonist you'll ever meet."

…

Natalia looked up at all the brightly colored booths and winced. "I was being rhetorical," she muttered as Alfred took her by the hand through Main Street. Natalia found herself as the unwanted belle of the ball, watched by several students as Alfred tried to drag her along.

"Didn't really care if it was rhetorical. Window shopping's always the best when you're upset."

 _Can't really window shop when we're both running about a thousand kilometers per hour._ Alfred came to a sudden stop. Natalia tripped—or would have, had Alfred not catch her by the waist. She pushed herself off of him instantly.

Then she looked up at a brick building with ivy growing up the walls. There was no sign, but you could tell it was a cafe based simply on the thick smell of coffee that passed every single time the door opened.

"I could go for a cup," she said, begrudgingly. The scente that wafted through was too divine to even ignore. And she didn't really have breakfast that morning—or a decent meal all week.

Alfred grinned and motioned her inside. He took a bar seat and waved. "A latte and a—hey, Nat, what do you want?"

"Don't call me that." She hesitated for a moment. "I'm also in the mood for an earl grey I guess."

The barista, the same hamster-eyebrowed kid from school waved back. "Got it."

"Thanks, Arthur. You're my favorite older brother."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I'm your only older brother." Then he turned to the coffee machine and started up their orders.

Alfred put an arm around Natalia, then spoke in a hushed whisper. "Listen, you're a cute girl, so he's probably going to offer you a free scone for your first visit here. They look completely normal, but under any circumstance, do not eat them."  
Natalia scrunched her brow.

"Do. Not. Eat. Them." Like clockwork, Arthur rearrived with their drinks and a plate with a scone on it. Alfred paled. Arthur pushed the plate towards Natalia.

"You're a new customer, and we're always looking for regulars. Take a scone, it's on the house."

Even though Alfred had warned her, it did look perfectly normal. And it was freshly cooked too. Natalia's stomach growled.

Arthur chuckled. "Well, I guess I was well-timed."

Natalia's lips thinned into a line. Scones _did_ go well with coffee—and a single bite wouldn't hurt, right?"

As soon as the scone hit her tastebuds, she found herself staring into the void of life itself. It wasn't just bad—any average person could throw in a bunch of strange of ingredients and create a nasty concoction that was _bad._ The scone and its terribleness was an art. It had all the ingredients of a scone—sugar, flour, etcetera, etcetera. But something just felt wrong. It tasted like it was overcooked and undercooked, unmixed and overmixed—Natalia managed to swallow it. It sank to the bottom of her stomach like a stone.

Alfred, sitting next to her, downed a couple sugar packets. "Told you so!" he sang out. Arthur looked helplessly embarrassed, apologizing furiously and promising to do better. Natalia chased the scone with her tea.

"Thanks for the murder attempt, kiddo."

Alfred rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair. "You're a sarcastic kid, aren't you?"

"I wasn't being sarcastic. It's facetious."

"What's the difference?"

"Facetious is like nicer sarcasm."

His face perked up. "So you were being nicer?"

Natalia cracked the smallest of smiles. "Well, if you want to be _technical_..."

The bells above the cafe door rang.

Ivan walked in.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey! Sorry for not uploading for so long, guys. Depression and medication problems got in the way of writing. But I'm a whole lot better now! I rewrote Chapter 2 just to see how much my writing's improved, and Chapter 3 is finished and ready to upload in just a handful of days! Enjoy~**

Ten-year-old Natalia sat on the kitchen table. At her knees Katyusha dabbed disinfectant where Natalia's cheek had split open, trying her best not to cause the younger girl to wince while at it. Once Katyusha was finished, she brought up a needle. Natalia scooted backward, crossing her arms and diverting her gaze.

"Damn Nikolai," Natalia muttered. "I swear the next time I see him, I'm going to bust open his shins." She glanced upward and saw Katyusha's horrified expression.

The older girl grabbed Natalia by the shoulders. "You shouldn't be saying things like that, Natalia. We're supposed to love each other here. We're all family here."

Natalia turned her nose upward. "We're just kids living in the same orphanage. We're hardly a family. Besides, everybody hates me, remember? Even you, Katyusha."

Natalia was Katyusha's least favorite; everyone knew that. If Katyusha claimed that she loved her so much, she would've yelled Nikolai's ear off rather than let him off with a half-hearted warning."

"C'mon, Natalia. The quicker we get this stitched up, the quicker it'll heal." She held up the threaded needle once again.

"Fine," Natalia muttered. Katyusha smiled sheepishly as she moved towards Natalia's face. When the needle neared her, Natalia shut her eyes close.

For a few moments, the sharp pain of needle and thread passing through flesh caused sweat to bead on her forehead. Her hands clenched the edge of the table, and her teeth nearly split the skin of her lip as she bit down on it.

Suddenly, the cool touch of a bandage reached her skin. "I-I'm finished," she heard Katyusha say. Natalia opened her eyes to see the older girl with a ghost pale complexion and a sheepish expression on her face. "Here, a mirror." From the dingy first aid kit, Katyusha pulled out an even dingier mirror. She handed it to Natalia.

The right side of her face was still peppered with black and blue bruises, and her right eye was still swollen shut, but her bleeding scratches along her cheekbone were clean, and some cotton and bandages covered where Katyusha had stitched her up.

Natalia's hand found its way to the bandage.

Natalia never felt loved in the orphanage. The kids were mean, the caretakers were strict, and even nice people like sweet Kayusha held their barriers up around Natalia. _She's scared of me,_ Natalia thought. She never blamed Katyusha. Natalia, with her bad temper and sharp tongue, was often too much for people like Katyusha.

The door opened suddenly. Katyusha smiled at the tall, silver-haired boy with kindness she never showed toward Natalia. "Ivan," she clapped her hands together in glee. "How was sports practice. You were running a bit la—"

"Natalia, what happened?" Ivan rushed over towards her, cupping her face in his hands. Natalia winced. Ivan pulled away. "S-sorry."

"Y'know, the usual," Natalia answered. "Nikolai thought it'd be nice to test his right hook while I was walking home."

Ivan's violet eyes, usually placid and calm, filled with a fire-like anger. Natalia's heart skipped a beat. She watched closely as Ivan turned on his heel and charged into the boys' dormitory. Nikolai's scream, like music to Natalia's ears, sounded through the orphanage. It was followed by a large slam. Ivan had pulled him from the top bunk and was now .

It was wrong of her to watch so intently, so gleefully. There was definitely a sadistic tinge to her happiness, and she was fully aware of it. But as Nikolai's cheek bruised and split, matching Natalia's own wounds, and as Ivan pummeled the smaller, skinnier boy while refusing Katyusha's orders to stop, Natalia discovered something: somebody finally cared. No more teary mothers putting Natalia on the doorstop after Father decided they didn't need a daughter. No more Katyushas claiming to love her yet did nothing to stop the bullies from hurting her.

She had Ivan now. Ivan cared about her. Ivan loved her. And in that moment, Natalia loved Ivan.

…

It was a long weekend, and Natalia hadn't left her room in two days. In exchange for some of her allowance, her roommate brought some food from the cafeteria. And luckily, there was a bathroom directly connected to the dorm, meaning Natalia could take depressingly long, hot showers without having to bump into anybody who had heard the rumors about her.

"Her own brother? Gross!" Natalia mimicked what she had heard the past couple of days toher pillow before screaming into it. She fisted her hands through her hair. "What a freak!"

Possibly due to dehydration, she stopped crying. But her eyes were still horribly red and lip still couldn't stop trembling.

She screamed into her pillow a second time.

"Nat?" She heard a familiar voice muffled through the door. It took her moment to deduce who it was, but once she did, an unamused expression spread across her face. "Hey, Nat, are you in there?"

Natalia sat up. "I'm going ahead and guessing you're not going to leave until I get out of bed."

"Yep."

Natalia swore under breath as she climbed out of bed stumbling over to the door, opening it wide open.

There was Alfred, smiley-faced, a cup of coffee in each hand. He pushed one towards Natalia. "So my brother's a barista, and he opened a new cafe downtown." He looked at her as she took a sip. "Good, isn't it?"

"Fine," she grumbled. "I'll admit it. It's fantastic."

"Anywho," he said, taking a large gulp of his own drink. "Wanna come?"

"Why would I do that?"

"I know you've only been eating vending machine candy for the past two days. Coffee and a bagel isn't the best meal, but it's waaay better than stale gummy bears. Whaddaya say?" He raised his brows, and awaited an answer.

Her stomach grumbled a bit. She let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Just don't call me Nat, kay?"

He smirked. "I wouldn't dream."

…

The cafe was small and almost claustrophobic yet somehow comfortable at the same time. When the two of them entered, a small bell chimed at the top of the door. The walls were a warm yellow and all the furniture—from the natural edged countertops to seats and tables seemed to be made from a luxurious dark cherry wood. There was even a couple of red bean-bag chairs cushed up in the corner that looked devilishly comfy.

A man with thick eyebrows waved hello amidst pouring out tea for a couple of patrons. "Oh, hello, Alfre—who's this? Alfred if you have a girlfriend, I don't it's in good taste to introduce us while I'm working!"

Natalia covered her face with her hands. Alfred blushed bright red. "Woah, woah, woah. Arthur, calm down, she's just a friend."

"We're hardly even that," Natalia grumbled, head still in hand.

"Oh, my apologies then. Alfred's never really gone outside his main circle of friends, so I guess I've become akin to associating every new face as a new boyfriend or girlfriend."

"I-it's fine." Natalia stuttered, seating herself among the countertop across from Arthur. Alfred sat down next to her.

"Anything you want in particular?" Arthur asked. "It's on the house. As an apology for embarrassing you."

"Don't order the scones," Alfred said under his breath.

"What's wrong with the scones?" Natalia suddenly blurted out. She regretted it instantly as she watched Arthur's face contort, turning towards Alfred with an angered expression.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with the scones. They're perfectly fine."

Alfred shook. "No they really aren't," he muttered again.

Natalia looked at Alfred. "If Alfred dislikes them so much, I bet I'll love them."

Arthur chuckled. "I like this one," he said, taking a couple scones from a small basket displayed near the cash register.

"I'll take the shortcake Frances makes,"Alfred said, spinning playfully on the stool.

Arthur gave him one more incredulous look before take a slice of cake from the Lazy Susan. Then he set the plates in front of the two of them. Natalia looked at the scone, a small twirl of steam rising from it surface. She split it in half, admiring how fluffy it looked as she tore it apart before taking a large bite.

It was the worst thing she ever tasted.

It wasn't disgusting, per se. It was just bland—well, it wasn't just bland. It would be an understatement to say it was just bland. It was like a special type of bland, so bland that it was depressing and gave its eater a thousand yard stare as they wonder the endless void of the universe.

"Thoughts?" Arthur asked, leaning in with anticipation.

"Umm...bad?" The moment she said it out loud, she immediately went to swear under her breath, cursing her lack of a mental filter.

Alfred. Meanwhile, giggled like a middle school girl.

"Sorry, was I too blunt? I've been told that I'm too blunt before." She looked at thick-eyebrowed man's disappointed expression.

"Oh, it's fine. I've been told before. It's just Frances, honestly. He's always one-upping me." He turned to the coffee machine as more people lined up at the cash register. "At least I'm not some emotional playboy who ditches his best friend only to come back at their apartment at three am, crying about all of his exes." His voice raised a bit. "Like Frances seriously it's like three in the morning can't this wait like a couple hours. I have to brew coffee in the morning, it's the busiest hour!"

Natalia inhaled sharply, and turned towards Alfred, who was still there giggling and spinning.

He steadied himself, then presented a forkful of cake towards Natalia. "Here. A prize for doing literally the best thing in the past ten years of my life."

"Are you trying to feed it to me?"

He quirked a brow. "Well, you're still hungry, right? Say 'ah'."

Natalia exhaled. "Fine. Ahhh."

"Good girl." He pat her on the head, pushing the rest of the cake towards her. Before she could dig in, the bell at the top of the door chimed again. Natalia glanced toward it, and immediately her spirits dropped.

"Ivan?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

"Ivan?"

The air in Natalia's lungs escaped out her throat. Time slowed down so that every second felt like an hour

What was he going to say, seeing her like this? Without him, with some boy. And feeding her cake? Well, he didn't see her, right? But if he opened the door as soon as she took a bite , he at least saw Alfred pat her on the head. Were head pats inherently romantic? She searched her mind for any reference of friendly head patting. None found.

Ivan was close now. Natalia's chest burned. Something knotted in her stomach. In a flash hormone-filled adrenaline, Natalia stood up quickly, causing a loud screech to sound as the stool scraped against tile ."Iv—"

"Hello, Arthur, just a small black coffee." Her brother greeted the barista with a warm smile.

Natalia watched him, waiting for him to say something to her. Her mind came up with a million scenarios and an answer to each of them. She braced herself, but Ivan said nothing. When Arthur handed him the coffee, Ivan turned and seated himself in one of those comfy-looking bean bags. He retrieved a small book from his coat pocket and began to read.

Natalia collapsed onto her chair, crestfallen.

He was ignoring her.

Alfred glanced at her, frowned, then turned towards Arthur. "We'll take the cake to go."

Arthur studied Natalia with a confused look. "Your friend looks a bit glassy-eyed there. Is she okay? What happened?"

"One, no. Two, I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop being so nosy." The edge to his voice was completely different from his usual, sunny self.

He turned to Nat, his expression soft. He nudged her shoulder lightly "Come on, Nat...let's...er, go."

Nat followed him out of the coffee shop. Once they were a block's distance away, she grabbed at her own hair, pulling at her scalp before laughing maniacally. "Jesus, Fuck!" She cried. The street was mostly empty, but a housewife across the street shot daggers towards the two of them.

She twirled around to face Alfred then pulled him by the lapels of his jacket, bringing her face near hers. "You must think I'm a crazy person, right? Like some type of incestuous freak?"

He knit his brows. "Nat, is that a scar under you eye? And are you—oh my god, you're tearing up. Hold on, I think I have a handkerch—"

She pushed him away, and wiped her tears away with her sleeve. Then she walked ahead, a bounce in her step.

"No, but really. Everyone thinks I'm weird now, right? Now that this incest rumor is spreading around campus like some "

Alfred matched her pace. "I'd tell you that rumors come and pass in a school as big as the World Academy, but something tells me you wouldn't listen."

"Smart boy."

"And that most people already know the two of you are adopted, so it's not _that_ weird."

"Yep."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"You said you were going to be my 'guardian angel'. Why don't you go ahead and do that?"

…

Classes resumed on Tuesday. She still sat behind Ivan. The back of his head was prettier than most people Natalia knew. And she was lucky that it was; Ivan didn't turn around once to face her. He was always quiet during class, only talking when talked to, and he hardly fidgeted out of place. Natalia had counted three different instances when he talked independently over the past week—once to use the pencil sharpener, and another two times to go to the bathroom.

Natalia sank back in her chair, glancing once to the left and another to the right. Except for the occasional stare, there was no sign that anyone even remembered what Natalia had done the week before. _I guess Alfred was right,_ she thought to herself with a grumble. She dragged her fingers down her cheeks and rested her face in her palms. Maybe she overreacted back there. She let out a breathy groan. Natalia hated being wrong. The bell rang, and she penciled in the last of her notes before packing up her bag.

She was about to leave class, when the teacher stopped her, handing Natalia a flyer for mock trial. "I heard you were on your last school's debate team. Mock trial seems like a good fit for you."

"No thanks," she said, pushing the flyer back towards him. At her old school, she only chose to join the debate team because the classroom was right next the field where she could watch Ivan during track practice. There really was no need for that.

Not to mention, Alfred was still on her mind.

She rushed out the classroom. What class was he in in the first place? Natalia was sure he would have mentioned it once or twice—the boy _constantly_ talked, and Natalia started to regret blocking out everything he said to her.

Well, not _regret_ regret. She would definitely ignore him again if he went and flapped his mouth a bunch at her. But she did admit to herself that she felt a _bit_ bad.

She thought about it as she walked herself all the way back to the girls' dorm, her shoulders hanging a bit lower than usual.

"Oh, thank you so much, Alfred!"

"No problem, ma'am! Let me know if there's anything I can do!"

Natalia stopped in her tracks. Her memory played back; Alfred liked to help the cleaning ladies sometimes. She inhaled sharply and upturned her nose. "Alfred," she said with a curt.

"Oh, hey Nat. I was wondering—do you wanna join my study group?" He smiled.

Natalia knit her brows. "What?"

"Well, the librarian says we need five people to rent out a study room. We only have four—me, Liz, Matt, and Rod. S—"

"You're talking to me." She narrowed her eyes.

He blinked in confusion. "Er, yeah? It's not like you're a ghost who nobody can see...wait—" his eyes widened—"are you a—"

"No." Natalia told him in a tone blunter than usual. "But I swore I scared you off by now. Y'know with how I acted yesterday..."

Whenever she had an outbust, Ivan would avoid her weeks at a time. She remembered when she was about thirteen, he avoided her for two entire months, not even calling her down for meals.

"Really?" He cocked a brow at her. "You think you were acting up? One time, I locked my own brother out of our house when he was a jerk to his girlfriend." He pointed to his own chest. "And while he was climbing into the bedroom window, I cut holes into all of his shirts! What happened yesterday was barely a spat." He ruffled her hair. "Chill, it's fine."

"I...I see." His kindness was strange. Natalia was expecting to be punished, isolated for what she had done. With him being so friendly, she almost felt guilty—like a kid who stole from the cookie jar and got away with it.

"Is there something wrong?" He started to walk. She followed

"You really shouldn't be so nice," she admitted. "I did something wrong."

"Ivan was being a jerk. He deserved it."

"No," she shook her head, and pressed a hand to her chest. " _I_ deserved it. I'm the one who embarrassed him in front of all his classmates, who made some crazy rumor spread about him. What I did when I first came to this school...I acted out of line—I guess the thrill of a new school got to me. I should have waited for Ivan to tell me what to do."

"Wait, Nat. Have you ever disobeyed Ivan?"

"I would never dream about it! Not since we were kids."

He let out a low whistle. "Sounds shitty."

"It was fine. I owe it to Ivan. He protected me when we were younger. If it takes my freedom to have Ivan's care and affection, then I think it's worth it."

They reached the clear, glass doors of the library. Alfred opened the door, and in a bowing gesture, motioned Natalia to enter. "Well, whether you like it or not, now you've got your freedom. What're you going to do with it?"


End file.
